


Shards

by XylB



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-30
Updated: 2014-08-30
Packaged: 2018-02-15 10:58:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 437
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2226552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XylB/pseuds/XylB
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel takes a walk through Dean's mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shards

**Author's Note:**

> Set right after 6.20: The Man Who Would Be King. It's around the time Dean doesn't trust Castiel.

Dean's mind is...interesting, to say the least. 

Castiel walks through, awed at how broken, how damaged the righteous man is. 

A graveyard of glass. Broken, jagged pieces bigger than a man stuck in the black, black soil. Shards glittering with the light of Dean's soul, visible for miles around, never-ending. A night sky above, cold and unyielding. 

Blood drips from the edges of the glass, the more blood, the more painful that piece is for Dean. 

Castiel looks around, sees the glass surrounding him, can tell which is John Winchester, Lisa, Ben, Bobby. The angle curiously runs a finger along a sharp edge, pressing hard enough to slice the skin. 

A shock of pictures, of emotions, flash in Castiel's mind. Memories - Dean's memories - run through him like an electric charge. Ash at a computer, typing in data. Sam and Ash laughing over a beer, full smiles and bright eyes. Ash in his own personal heaven, his laptop decoding angel frequencies. Regret, sorrow, relief, guilt. 

Castiel withdraws his finger, cutting off the flood of memories. So, that shard is Ash. 

The angel searches through the graveyard for hours, wandering far out and in, but he can't find the one he is seeking. He's found Gabriel, Adam, Pamela, Alastair, Lilith, even his own. He's scrolled through the pain and joy, guilt and hope. 

But where is Sam? 

Glass shards all around, endless miles of dirt underfoot, rust-red blood sliding down and staining air. 

A whisper. 

Castiel cocks his head, listening intently. 

Silence, not even wind. Then - 

_I'm sorry I couldn't protect you, Sammy._

Regret tinges the air and Castiel follows it, follows the sound. 

It leads him through countless glass pieces, winds a path strewn with guilt. The emotions strengthen the closer Castiel gets. 

And when he stops, awestruck at the sight in front of him, he can taste the guilt cloaking him. 

The shard is a similar size as the others, but there is no blood on it. It shines brighter than the others, a faint blue light emanating from it. 

Castiel approaches, feels the emotions change. This piece seems...pure, unsullied. Strong feelings he can't name wrap him up, happy feelings. 

Intrigued, Castiel reaches out and touches it.

\----

Dean gasps, eyes flicking open. He sits up quickly, glancing over at Sam, who is fast asleep in the other bed. 

"Cas?" he whispers, fists clutching the bedsheets. 

No one shows.

\----

Castiel, ejected from the depths of Dean's mind, watches on, invisible, as Dean's shoulders slump and he lies back down. 

Castiel swallows down the words he wants to say, and leaves. 

\----

Dean doesn't go back to sleep.


End file.
